If only the Elite 5 were the norm and not the exception when it comes to price. I'm not some expert racer by a long stretch. However, I think it's safe to say success running nitro has as much to do with the user/setter-upper/driver as it does to do with brand/model/how much money you throw at it. I'm sure most guys who race at a high level could do just great with an Elite 5. Right pipe, right clutch, right fuel, right tune..., good driving and on and on... They buy the big money engines - or are given them or given them for a deal being sponsored, to get 20 seconds extra run-time or whatever, something which is relevant for maybe %10 of the guys out there racing.. Racing would be cooler if it weren't suffused with pressure to constantly dump more and more money into it.